Islands Of The Sound

The Stony Creek Market in Branford is a hub of activity, its breezy porch offering shelter from the summer sun. The market serves breakfast and lunch daily.

The Stony Creek Market in Branford is a hub of activity, its breezy porch offering shelter from the summer sun. The market serves breakfast and lunch daily. (TIA ANN CHAPMAN / HARTFORD COURANT)

KATHLEEN MEGANCourant Staff Writer

Most everyone's heard the one about how Tom Thumb of Barnum & Bailey's Circus stayed in a house on the Thimble Islands, or about how Captain Kidd is rumored to have buried treasures there.

But how many know about the Thimble Island named Mother-In-Law, after a woman stranded on it by her newlywed daughter and son-in-law, or the oddly named "Cut-In-Two" Island, or the island with a putting green and tennis court?

Or that the Thimble Islands are named after the thimbleberry, which is very much like a black raspberry.

When we were thinking about a single-day getaway, we wanted to go some place beachy, but not honky-tonk. A place that would be quiet, but not without character and a good lunch spot.

That's how we came to the Stony Creek section of Branford with its harbor view full of the storied Thimble Islands, and how we happened to board the Sea Mist — one of three ferry services that combine history with a little voyeurism, a peek into the lives of the wealthy, if generally not famous.

Justin Infantino, who runs the double-decked Sea Mist ferry with his father, Mike, has a practiced, pleasant patter covering everything from the geologic — the plentiful pink granite of the area that was used in the Statue of Liberty and Grant's Tomb — to the hokey pirate music played as we pass through the channel that Captain Kidd supposedly once patrolled.

As we cruise around Long Island Sound, gentle breezes cooling us, Infantino gives us the basics: 25 inhabited islands, 95 homes, 100 families. Many of the homes until relatively recently had no or limited electricity or running water. Nine of the islands have electrical power from shore; 40 percent get water from shore. Most everyone uses propane for cooking and refrigeration. There are no cars on the islands.

Pointing out the house where Tom Thumb stayed, Infantino tells us that a small portion of it was still papered with "very old and priceless circus posters." The island is called Cut-in-Two because a bridge connecting two tiny islands was destroyed.

The small rocky islands with hardy, wind-worn evergreens and shrubbery sprouting between rocks, along with the occasional egret or cormorant, summon thoughts of Penobscot Bay or other Downeast spots, though on a smaller scale and with a far more welcoming water temperature.

As we come to Elton's or Davis Island, Infantino points out a graceful Victorian mansion with porches and a cupola where President Taft summered. The estate includes a sports court where basketball, tennis and volleyball can be played.

Money Island, with 32 houses, was once a self-sustaining community with a church, a store, a post office, a hotel and a two-lane bowling alley. We learn that on Governor's Island, a guy named Mr. Weed planted 25 varieties of trees. (Curiously, our tour guide doesn't mention the famous residents of Governor's Island, Garry Trudeau and his wife, Jane Pauley. Later, Mike Infantino said they have asked not to be included.)

Finally we come to Rogers Island and the showpiece of the Thimbles: a 27-room English Tudor-style mansion built in 1904. We get to ooh and ahh over the formal gardens, the gazebo, the pool area with its inspired orange, yellow and blue umbrellas, and we hear about the putting green and the tennis court.

When it was sold several years ago, it went for $23 million, Infantino tells us, and that was before the improvements. "Twenty-seven rooms for the summer," says Infantino. I wonder, for a moment, whether the spiel is ever audible to the inhabitants sitting poolside or in the garden.

Next we see a couple of islands where homes were destroyed by the Hurricane of '38, which makes all of us passengers wonder about the attraction of these tiny islands.

"It's a lot to pay for the chance of a hurricane sweeping you away," says one passenger.

When we arrive back at the dock, it's time for lunch. As we stroll back toward our car — parked in a prime spot by the tiny beach — we are trailed by a van with two kayaks on top. The drivers, ever hopeful, ask us if we are leaving. They are looking for a parking space.

We were in fact very lucky to find ours and that is a factor to consider when visiting Stony Creek. This was a sleepy Monday morning and by 11:30, there was nary a spot to be had. It's hard to imagine what it would be like on a busy Friday afternoon when islanders want to park their cars on shore and go out to their homes.

The dearth of restrooms should also be mentioned. Oh, there are portable potties, but they aren't so pleasant. We were told there are plans to add public restrooms and parking spaces.

Lunch can be had at Creekers Marine and Cuisine— where you can buy a lobster sandwich as well as gasoline for your boat — or the Stony Creek Market. We opt for the latter, partly because of its breezy, shady porch.

The only disappointment of our trip came when we tried to go for a dip at the beach. It was low tide and the harbor bottom seemed particularly slimy and the water very murky. Chatting with the lifeguard, we learned that high tide is far more inviting. The other drawback on this hot day were jellyfish: We had heard of stings that day, but they were almost impossible to see in the cloudy water.

We decided to skip the swim. If we return, it'll be at timed for high tide. We'll also make time to walk along the Stony Creek Trolley Trail off West Point Road, which we were told offers views of the harbor and marshes.

We were nearly out of time, but did manage to stop briefly at the "Visions Toward Wellness" gallery where an exhibit of collages made with color fibers is on display. Gallery-owner, Jon J. Moscartolo, said that he sees art as healing, for the artist, the viewer and the world.

Moscartolo said that he and the owners of the other two galleries in Stony Creek are working together to foster a little "Sto-Ho."